The Chairman of the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Ebonyi State Chapter, Mr. Felix Nomeh, has accused the Ebonyi State Government of allegedly including suspected cultists in the committee responsible for closing illegal and substandard schools in Ezza North Local Government Area.

Speaking with journalists in Abakaliki on Tuesday, Nomeh, who is also a member of the task force, claimed that some individuals in the committee have turned the government exercise into an opportunity for harassment and intimidation. According to him, the task force was originally formed to identify and shut down illegal schools but has been “infiltrated by questionable characters.”

Nomeh explained that during the enforcement of the school closure directive, several teachers and school proprietors were arrested. He said he had appealed for the release of the teachers, arguing that they were only struggling to make a living, but his intervention reportedly angered some members of the group. “I didn’t know that the driver and some cultists brought into the committee were the ones now threatening to kill me for speaking up,” he alleged.

He further accused certain members of the task force of using their positions to intimidate people and act outside the mandate of the committee. Nomeh stated that his attempts to ensure fairness in the enforcement process had led to threats against his life from those he described as “cultists within the group.”

However, the Commissioner for Primary and Secondary Education, Dr. Ilang Donatus, dismissed Nomeh’s claims as baseless and reckless, warning that he could face legal action if he fails to produce credible evidence. “Let him produce proof that any cultists were employed in the committee, otherwise I will charge him to court,” Donatus said.